His name: ladymephisto
Short story (max. 700 words):
Even in the sadistic facts of what his parents did him both mentally and emotionally, an outsider must admire and respect the couple for what they did, in the long run, for their single son.
Born in the wrong season on the wrong day on the wrong time, Oro Draco arrived as something completely backwards. His parents, a couple who had honestly uncovered love in the sweet gazes of one another, had tried unsuccessfully for years to carry a litter full term. His mother, a bold, independent female, had stated that this was her last season. If it did not take this time, then she was forever cursed with never carrying on her bloodline.
At first, it seemed like once again their hopes had been shattered. Although both parents were devastated, both moved on with their lives, going about their business in the small plot of territory they owned. As the months crawled through, the mother watched with envious gazes as young females met their new young, bouncy, healthy couplets of beautiful children. Depression nipped at her heels and she stubbornly ran from the weakening emotion, refusing to give into the sadness that crept and curled around her heart.
When next winter rolled around, it the same severe one they had experienced last year. They hunkered down in their dens, having been collecting material since spring, and settled back to survive through the trying season.
But midway through winter, the female experienced intense pain in the middle of the night, rousing her from her sleepless dreams. She woke her mate up with her calls and they both realized, with fear, that she was getting ready to deliver.
Both parents were startled and scared. They had met young and had grown up together, always within their partner, never venturing far. When they had finally declared becoming mates nobody who had known them was surprised at all. Neither had ever produced a fawn, let alone witnessed one happening. Both they were worried out of their minds that something was terribly wrong.
In their family pasts, a birth during the early winter spelled bad omens. A birth during such a hard winter, in the middle of the night with wind howling around their small home, was especially terrible. And even if the timing had been more perfect, the parents had no idea what to do. With nothing to support a new pup with, the father scrambled to prepare something, in case the kids actually survived for a few hours. Without a pregnancy showing, the mother was ill prepared also, and brutally lost on what to do.
Through hard work and dedication, they made it through the night. When the morning breached, there was a single fawn curled up against its novice mother’s side, bleating softly in glee at merely being out in the world. It was a little boy with unusual glowing marks along its fur highlighted with a more yellowish, golden color, but the parents were too overjoyed in the beginning to care about the unique coloration of his fur.
Pride blooming in their open hearts, the parents decided on the toilsome name of Oro Draco, an ancient name in their families’ languages that meant something akin to “gold dragon”. They figured the newborn needed a name that was strong and sharp-willed to get him through the winter.
